Lemons and Limes: The Topic

[blue_dolphin]

52 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Eric Ripert had a recipe for lemon confit in his book, A Return to Cooking.  After reading it, I kept a jar of it in my cupboard for years - they were great to have on hand.  I don't really do the kind of cooking that would benefit from it anymore, but if I did, I would definitely keep these around again.

 

It seems there's quite a variety of lemon confit recipes out there.  Is this one anything like the Ripert recipe you used?  It's reminiscent of a salt-preserved lemon but with sugar added and just a 2-week sit in the fridge with no room temp fermentation time. No oil.

 

Edited to add that I see we actually have a Lemon Confit topic and @KennethT already described his method in this post so I should probably take myself over there, though it seems that most of the discussion is around what I'd call salt-preserved lemons. 

 

52 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Looking at the amount of olive oil called for for  six lemons my mind wanders to the sous vide method of confit duck which requires so much less Duckfat than the conventional method. Hmmmmm. 

I did wonder about that.  Though in a 250°F oven for 2 hrs, you might expect to drive off some of the moisture in the lemon pulp and that wouldn't happen in a bag at lower temp. 

My lemons are pretty much baseball-size so 2 cups for 6 lemons may not be a great excess 🤣 The Taste & Technique confit also used 2 cups of olive oil for just 3 lemons, skin only, no pulp.  Preciously, the skin was to be removed with 1/16th of an inch of pith remaining, sliced into strips 1/8 inch by 1 inch and heated in the olive oil "at a very gentle simmer, with tiny bubbles no bigger than those in Champagne," for 20 min.  I checked the temp and it was only ~ 180F so that would work with SV.  The recipe includes similar quantities of salt & sugar to the Master Chef recipe and adds, preciously, fennel pollen.

 

I think I will decant most of the oil from the T&T confit that I made yesterday and use that for a smaller batch of the Master Chef confit with rosemary and then maybe try another small batch of a sweet version with Meyer lemons and vanilla. 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by blue_dolphin
to add Lemon Confit topic link (log)

[Mjx]

@heidih, @TicTac, @Anna N, @Kerry Beal, @blue_dolphin, @haresfur, @DianaB, @KennethT, thank you so much for these suggestions (@Kerry Beal, what is Shaker pie?). My plan is to look at all these recipes, and see which involves the shortest cooking time, because I'd really like to preserve the exceptional scent these have.

 

[I ate another of these, because I felt I should give them a fair trial. It was rough. I think part of the problem is that the skin is as thick as a regular lemon, so the peel to pulp ratio is a bit skewed.]

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

Looking at the amount of olive oil called for for  six lemons my mind wanders to the sous vide method of confit duck which requires so much less Duckfat than the conventional method. Hmmmmm. 

And we could confit them in duck fat too!

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Mjx said:

@heidih, @TicTac, @Anna N, @Kerry Beal, @blue_dolphin, @haresfur, @DianaB, @KennethT, thank you so much for these suggestions (@Kerry Beal, what is Shaker pie?). My plan is to look at all these recipes, and see which involves the shortest cooking time, because I'd really like to preserve the exceptional scent these have.

 

[I ate another of these, because I felt I should give them a fair trial. It was rough. I think part of the problem is that the skin is as thick as a regular lemon, so the peel to pulp ratio is a bit skewed.]

Shaker pie is a pie where whole lemons are sliced thinly and used as the filling for a pie. 

 

Here is the Smitten Kitchen variation.

[Kerry Beal]

5 hours ago, DianaB said:

Cedric Grolet gives a recipe for poached lemons that I have used as a part of his lemon dessert but also as an ingredient for numerous other citrus based concoctions.  L’académie de Goût is giving free access to the entire recipe at the moment (usually behind paywall).  It is in French but Google and similar do amazing translations these days.  I store my lemons in the freezer once confit so that I can use them as and when.  Well worth the effort, as is the entire dessert if you have time to make it.

https://www.academiedugout.fr/recettes/citron-jaune_11703_2

 

Curious to know if peduncles are peels?

[liuzhou]

3 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Curious to know if peduncles are peels?

 

In my mental dictionary peduncles are stalks or stems.

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Curious to know if peduncles are peels?

Maybe those little protuberances at the polar end of the lemons?

Would make sense from @liuzhou's definition as it forms at the stalk or stem end. 
 

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

In my mental dictionary peduncles are stalks or stems.

In this photo from an article on fruit drop in HLB, they are using “peduncle” to describe that bulbous spot where the fruit connects to the stem. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by blue_dolphin
To add photo (log)

[DianaB]

51 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

In my mental dictionary peduncles are stalks or stems.

My understanding also. 

[heidih]

So not the nipple like end?  

[blue_dolphin]

2 minutes ago, heidih said:

So not the nipple like end?  

Probably the recipe just means to cut off both ends

[DianaB]

1 minute ago, blue_dolphin said:

Probably the recipe just means to cut off both ends

I think so, that is what I have done when following M. Grolet’s recipe.  The full lemon dessert is really worth making.  Every recipe I made from his “Fruits” book has been outstanding.  Still waiting to visit his patisseries in Paris, opened just as Covid made travel impossible.  

[liuzhou]

peduncle Nat. Hist.

 

(pɪˈdʌŋk(ə)l)

 

[ad. mod. Bot. L. peduncul-us footstalk (Linnæus Philos. Bot. §82 D, Pedunculus, truncus partialis elevans Fructificationem nec folia), dim. of ped-em foot.

   In L. only as a late variant of pedīculus, pedūculus louse. In F. peduncule (1765 Encycl.), pédoncule (Dict. Acad. 1835).]

A comparatively long and slender part forming a support or attachment for some other part or member in a plant or animal body; a footstalk.

 

1.1 Bot. The stalk of a flower or fruit, or of a cluster of flowers or fruits; the primary or main stalk, or one of the general stalks, of an inflorescence, which bears either a solitary flower, a number of sessile flowers, or a number of subordinate stalks (pedicels) directly bearing the flowers. (Distinguished from a leaf-stalk or petiole.) Also sometimes applied to other stalks, as those that bear the fructification in some fungi.

[liuzhou]

31 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

In this photo from an article on fruit drop in HLB, they are using “peduncle” to describe that bulbous spot where the fruit connects to the stem.

 

I don't thing they are. As they say, the arrow in the first image is pointing to the junction between the peduncle and the calyx and not to the peduncle itself.

Edited March 2, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[blue_dolphin]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

 

I don't thing they are. As they say, the arrow is pointing to the junction between the peduncle and the calyx and not to the peduncle itself.

Perhaps so. In other publications, they refer to the peduncular end of the fruit. 

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Perhaps so. In other publications, they refer to the peduncular end of the fruit. 

 

Yes. The end nearest the peduncle (if it were still there).

[liuzhou]

My main problem distinguishing lemons from limes here is that we get a lot of green-skinned lemons known as 青柠檬 (qīng níng méng, literally green lemons).

 

Limes, on the other hand are 青柠檬 (qīng níng méng).

I rarely find limes.

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Probably the recipe just means to cut off both ends

Yup - gotta be - all I could picture was a pedunculated tumour and I couldn't connect that with a lemon in any way.

 

"Step 2: Poached Citrus
Remove the peduncles from the citrus fruits, cut them into 8 then remove the inside, leaving just 3 mm of flesh." 

Edited March 2, 2023 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, DianaB said:

I think so, that is what I have done when following M. Grolet’s recipe.  The full lemon dessert is really worth making.  Every recipe I made from his “Fruits” book has been outstanding.  Still waiting to visit his patisseries in Paris, opened just as Covid made travel impossible.  

I've been to one - long line up for a quick stroll through.

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Yup - gotta be - all I could picture was a pedunculated tumour and I couldn't connect that with a lemon in any way.

 

Yeah, I could only think of the cerebellar peduncles and it wasn't helping either!

[DianaB]

2 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

I've been to one - long line up for a quick stroll through.

Did you try any of his fruit desserts?  Last I heard they were 17€ each but worth every centime.  The recipes have numerous preparations each but results are extraordinary.  I had never come across timut pepper or black limes before I started working my way through the book.  Even simple combinations like dill and apple have been great discoveries.  

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, DianaB said:

Did you try any of his fruit desserts?  Last I heard they were 17€ each but worth every centime.  The recipes have numerous preparations each but results are extraordinary.  I had never come across timut pepper or black limes before I started working my way through the book.  Even simple combinations like dill and apple have been great discoveries.  

Here's all I can find - apparently it didn't make enough of an impression for a picture - waiting in line

[DianaB]

On 3/2/2023 at 11:25 PM, Kerry Beal said:

Here's all I can find - apparently it didn't make enough of an impression for a picture - waiting in line

Guess this must have been soon after the shop opened?    Of course one can go to the Meurice where they have offered M. Grolet’s delights for collection since the pandemic.

Eg
https://cedric-grolet.com/meurice/produit/fruit-de-la-passion-2023/

 

Swerving  back to the original topic, we enjoyed sudachi citrus fruits a short while ago.  These looked like limes on arrival but they turned yellow as they ripened.  Beautiful citrus, almost as amazing as the equally difficult to source fresh yuzu.  When I win the lottery (as we don’t buy tickets, this won’t be soon 😂)I shall have a vast glass house built so that I can grow citrus fruits ad infinitum.  

[ElsieD]

I want to buy some lemons and limes in bulk.  What is the best way to freeze the zest?  If I remove the peel and 100% of the pith, is there any reason why I can't pulverize the flesh in my Vitamix and strain that mixture to maximize the juice?  I'd freeze the juice in ice cube trays.

[Smithy]

5 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I want to buy some lemons and limes in bulk.  What is the best way to freeze the zest?  If I remove the peel and 100% of the pith, is there any reason why I can't pulverize the flesh in my Vitamix and strain that mixture to maximize the juice?  I'd freeze the juice in ice cube trays.

 

The zest freezes beautifully in strips. Do be sure to leave the pith behind, but I think you already knew that. (I actually don't find lemon pith to be as bitter as orange pith, but I think I'm an outlier.) I just put the strips of zest, cut using a vegetable peeler, into a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, and freeze.

 

I can't think of a reason that blending the bejeezus out of the flesh and juice (definitely minus the pith) and then straining it would be a problem, although it's an extra step you might not appreciate since you'll have to remove the pith first. I've always just squeezed the fruit, after collecting the zest if I was a mind to do so, but a blender should work too.

 

Good idea to freeze the juice in ice cube trays. I keep saving it in 1-cup and 1-pint containers, then having trouble getting a small amount out later. Last night's fish with Meyer lemon juice was a case in point. That sauce had pucker power!

[ElsieD]

Since you mentioned Meyer Lemon, can it be used as a 1 for 1 substitute for regulat lemons?  My nearest grocery had a good buy on them last week and I almost bought a bag until I remembered that I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.